Essex plumber prosecuted for catering gas work

An Essex plumber has been given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to do 240 hours of community work after carrying out unsafe gas work at two fast food outlets in Southend-on-Sea.

Richard Smith, 56, from Dagenham, exposed staff, customers, owners and their families to the risk of explosion and injury after leaving gas appliances in a condition classified as ‘At Risk’.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Smith for serious breaches of gas safety regulations after his sub-standard work was uncovered at Tasty Chicken, Westcliff-on-Sea, and The Chick Inn, Southend-on-Sea in June last year.

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Southend-on-Sea Magistrates’ Court heard that Smith visited both premises to carry out annual gas safety checks on commercial gas cookers and a gas boiler, despite not being Gas Safe registered or competent to carry out the work.

HSE found that Mr Smith, who had never been trained to work on commercial catering equipment, had been using an expired Gas Safe Register card he had received while working for a former employer. HSE had warned him against making false claims with clients in 2011 but he ignored this warning.

He was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 240 hours of community work. He was also ordered to pay costs of £892 after pleading guilty to six breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

After the case, HSE Inspector Sue Matthews said: “Anyone working on gas appliances needs to be a member of the Gas Safe Register to prove they are competent to work on the gas appliances concerned.

“Mr Smith defied these requirements as he was not registered and had never been trained to work on commercial catering equipment. He also falsely claimed to be Gas Safe registered in spite of a previous warning by HSE in 2011 that this was against the law.

“By failing to heed this warning, Mr Smith potentially endangered the lives of the public and the employees at Tasty Chicken and The Chick Inn. The Tasty Chicken owner’s family, who lived on the premises, were also put at risk.

“It is vital that gas-fired catering equipment is properly checked as gas leaks can easily go undetected in commercial kitchens due to food odours and the use of extractor fans while cooking is taking place.”